The Faces of Immigration

Written by Lauren Timberlake

Photos by Molly Merrick

We have recently shared several posts inviting readers to investigate what the Bible says about immigrants and to examine attitudes in the light of those truths. That is hard work, and we thank God so many are taking the time to engage in something that we really care about at Mission Adelante. Today, we’d like to focus on one of the reasons why we care so much. Immigration is not just theology or politics to us-- it is individuals and families, grandmothers and little boys, friends and even co-laborers with us in our efforts towards sharing the message of Jesus. Here are some photos of the immigrants in our community, taken at last week’s trimester-end celebrations. As you scroll, please pray for these people and the community they represent, for their families and their futures, for health and stability, for life and hope.

Ratna, Julie, and Ran walk into the Bhutanese Family Fun Celebration together.

Beth loves on kids as they wait in line for food at the Latino End of Trimester Party.

The youngest group from Kids Adelante lines up together after receiving awards.

Brenda and Tika enjoy creating temporary henna “tattoos” together at the mehndi station.

The program awards are finished, and Krishna and Janelle help get the Nepali dance party started.

Michael earned the pinnacle award for learning all the verses and not missing a day of Kids Adelante this term.

Kids Club friends Sarah, Kabita and Pramoda spend time together as they wait for dinner.

In other news:

• Informational meetings were held on Sunday afternoon for students who are interested in beginning the application process for the Leaders in Training Program for the 2013-2014 school year.  Many students attended and have begun the application process!
• More than 90 evangelical leaders from Kansas City gathered on Tuesday to hear from Noel Castellanos, CEO of Christian Community Development Association, about our call to confront injustice for the benefit of our neighbors, specifically, in this case, injustice in the form of out-dated immigration policy. See Fox 4's news coverage of the event.
• We're always grateful for donations to our Resource Center.  Please help us out by not leaving donations outside of the Resource Center, or inside or outside of our facility!  The weather can make a mess out of them!  Please contact Molly at mollym@missionadelante.org to arrange a time to drop-off your donation.

Prayer needs:

• As we reflect on the past trimester and consider the feedback we've received, pray for God to lead us to continue to shape our programs to best serve the needs of immigrants, and to most clearly demonstrate to them the love of Christ.
• Jarrett & Kristen Meek and family's sabbatical is about to conclude, and although we find ourselves increasingly eager to welcome them back to Kansas City this Monday, we know it will be a taxing transition for them.  Please pray for the Lord to supply extra energy and patience for them in the coming weeks.

Important dates:

• Bhutanese ESL Volunteer Snacks and Training: Saturday, May 4, 2:00,at Lauren Timberlake’s house. Please consider joining us for fun, prayer and some cultural training as we keep learning how to love the Bhutanese well. Please contact Jenny Dunn at jennyd@missionadelante.org for more details.
• Volunteer Orientation & Training: Saturday, May 18, 9:00-12:30All volunteers should attend this training once at the beginning of serving with Mission Adelante.  It's also a great way for someone to become familiar with Mission Adelante's ministry.  If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about what we do, and about our volunteer opportunities, please plan to attend/encourage him or her to attend this informative training.
• All Volunteer Huddle & Dessert: Monday, May 20, 6:30 p.m.  We encourage everyone that will be volunteering with us during our summer trimester to attend so we can prepare for a great launch.
• Summer trimester programs launch: Week of May 27

Sabbatical Reflections from Costa Rica

by Jarrett Meek, Founder, Executive Director/Pastor

A sabbatical is a strange and wonderful thing; a phenomenon that defies the laws of productivity and normal 

adult experience.  The last time I can remember being free from responsibility for four solid months was before I entered kindergarten, which I naturally don't remember.  Even as a kid, the long summers of swimming, romping in the woods behind our house, and playing baseball always came to an abrupt end after just three months, and were replaced by the rigors of school and the constant pressure of much-dreaded homework.  And then, as an adult, there never really had been a break from responsibility.  Even during a rare two-week vacation there was always the knowledge that my work was waiting at home to punish me for leaving it unattended for so long.  And then suddenly (or not so suddenly if I think about all the preparation that was required), I was extracted from the battlefield of urban ministry in Kansas City on a snowy New Year's Eve morning.  When we landed that evening, I found myself surrounded by the sights, smells and sounds of Costa Rica with fireworks lighting up every corner of the warm night sky in what seemed like an extravagant city-wide, "welcome to sabbatical" party; a celebratory beginning of four months free of responsibility and separated from ministry by 2500 miles.  The lessons learned and the experiences lived during this time are in some ways very profound and in others quite mundane.  If you had four months to read, I would share it all with you.  But, for now you'll have to settle for a few highlights!

Routines, Rhythms, and Habits

I learned that a sabbatical is not a vacation.  On vacation, every routine is thrown out the window along with a whole lot of money.  Well, a family can't live like that for four months!  Besides realizing that the high prices of most products in Costa Rica would mean we would be watching every Colón (1/5 of a penny),  we also discovered fairly quickly that if we were going to thrive here during this time we would need to establish some rhythms and routines.  The opportunity to do this without factoring in work meant that daily exercise with the kids, homeschooling (yes, I was in charge of homeschooling during sabbatical), family devotional times, regular time playing basketball and baseball with Charlie, and frequent dates with Kristen would be easily established.  What a rich family time!

My own personal study time was also factored into the daily rhythm; about 2 hours/day of reading, writing, prayer, and Bible study.  This time was not pressured in any way, but at first was simply my time, doing whatever I felt like. It later became a little more focused as I found my rhythm.  One of the things I read in the first month was a classic Latin American novel called "Cién Años de Soledad."  As I reached back to try to remember all of the things I've enjoyed doing in the past, but haven't had time to do, I was struck by the importance of having habits that keep me from having to spend the mental energy making every decision each day about what to focus on.  I discovered that where there are habits and routines established around some of the most important things in our lives we are able to execute them much more consistently because we're not starting from scratch each day trying to make a new plan.  I reflected a lot on the inconsistency of my own spiritual disciplines over the last several years, and a personal goal for this sabbatical became to gently re-establish habits and rhythms around some of the things that are hard to maintain or restart during the busyness of life and ministry on the battlefield.

Primacy of Relationships

In the abundance of family time, devotional time, reading, and the relaxed schedule, the Lord brought me back many times to one important word: relationships.  Where have I put ministry productivity above loving others?  Where have I put ministry function above loving my teammates?  Where have I put results over relationships?  I don't want to be that kind of leader.  I don't want to be that kind of person.  I've seen it before; strong and gifted leaders whose competence replaces character and whose talent becomes a substitute for healthy relationships.  Surely results in ministry are enhanced by rich and thriving relationships over the long-haul.  Surely relationships are the essence of real godly ministry.  I pray the Lord will allow me to grow in this area and give me the eyes to see how I need to change and where I need to pursue reconciliation with people I've hurt along the way.

Being vs. Doing

The tension between "doing and being" is often talked about in ministry circles.  I don't know how this happened, but I think I've always misunderstood what was meant by the "being" side of this equation.  I guess I thought it meant inactivity, rest, just existing, the OPPOSITE of doing; kind of like the difference between work and rest.  Somehow during this sabbatical God changed my understanding of what the "being" side of this balance looks like and gave me a new excitement for it.  First, I discovered that it really isn't a balance at all.  Second, although the work vs. rest rhythm is very important, "BEING" in this sense should not be equated with rest as though it were the opposite of doing.  I spent a lot of time plumbing the depths of my own heart and character and reflecting on who I AM and who I want to BE.  I tried to put some of those thoughts in writing in the form of personal values and found that many of them ended up identifying character qualities that I long to see God form in me.  BEING, I discovered, has to do with what kind of person I AM.  And instead of creating tension with doing, the who I am, is the fountain out of which the doing flows.  "Every good tree produces good fruit..." (Mt. 7:17).  So on sabbatical I had time to reflect on who I am and who I want to be... my own growth and what God is doing in me.  Here is one example:

Lover of Mercy:  I want to always see the potential in the people around me, even those who fail many times.  I want to be quick to show mercy even when I have been personally wronged.  I want to avoid taking harsh and critical views of others, opting instead to be a person who defends the dignity of those whom others judge harshly.

Run While You Can!

Running has been an important part of my life since I was young.  I'll spare you the details of my glory days, but the point is that during this sabbatical I have renewed my love for running.  When we arrived here I have to confess that I was in the worst physical condition of my life.  My joints hurt, I had been dealing with a tight hamstring for nearly a year, I had a mild case of sciatica and a growing belly, and I really hadn't run much since a case of IT band syndrome had foiled my first attempt at training for a marathon back in the summer of 2011.  I felt like I was on a downward spiral in terms of exercise capacity and I was kind of depressed about it.  Well, here I've had ample time to rebuild little by little.  Somewhere along the way it dawned on me that there would come a day when I would not be ABLE to run anymore.  I would not be able to sprint.  I would not be able to run 2 miles.  "I need to enjoy this while I can", I thought.   And so I have!  And as we near the end of this four month half-time break, I am in better running condition that I have been in the last ten years.  I'm 32 years old again!  Just for fun, I've been running a slower version of the dreaded "quarter" workout we used to do in high school track and cross country; 16 x 400m sprints.   And now that I'm back in the exercise groove, my motivation to continue when we return is very strong.

Impact on Mission Adelante

It was never really in doubt, but that doesn't mean it was not significant.  The Lord has blessed Mission Adelante with some really gifted leaders who have been able to guide the ship and take new ground during my absence. And it is now clear that He has built a ministry that is not dependent on the personality of its founder.  All of the responsibilities of running the ministry were passed on to capable staff who led through highlights and challenges, without ever having to hit the emergency button and call me back in.  Not only did Mission Adelante survive, but its impact increased, and its leaders were challenged to grow in ways that would never have happened if I had been there.  And we will now have the opportunity to press into the lessons learned from this "disappearing leader" experiment as we look forward to how God will use this time in our future as a ministry.

With a couple of weeks left in this out-of-responsibility experience, my mind and heart are shifting back home, and I'm excited to reengage with the community and mission that God has given us.  There are exciting things on the horizon for Mission Adelante; things I am eager to share with you soon.  So, I invite you to pray for me in this transition, and for my family, and for the Mission Adelante community as we continue to live our God's calling to serve, share life and share Jesus with people from other places .  Thank you for your friendship and partnership!

Living Life-on-Life

Written by Jenny Dunn, Bhutanese ESL Coordinator

Hannah Hume with two Bhutanese teen girls

One of our core values at Mission Adelante is to make disciples and leaders that are capable of reproducing the work of Jesus.

This past year, our staff read and discussed the book

The Master Plan of Evangelism

by Robert E. Coleman. This book does an incredible job of bringing to life the way that Jesus made disciples as we look through the Gospels.

One of His strategies was association.  Coleman says that Jesus made a habit of "

being with them"

. Jesus taught these men his way by drawing them close to himself. It seems to be too simple as we consider the instruction in all the curriculum and books that tell us how to disciple.  Jesus was his own school and curriculum!   We at Mission Adelante are not opposed to such things as tools, but we find it very refreshing to see that anyone can make disciples simply by intentionally being with people and capturing teachable moments.

Our staff has grown so much in this area since we studied this book together.  For example, a couple months ago, my husband and I had a painting day at our house. We had been painting for a little while when Hannah Hume, the Bhutanese Teens Coordinator called.  She told me that she was coming over and bringing some Bhutanese teens along. I knew this was going to be interesting because most of the Bhutanese have never painted before.  When they arrived we assigned them to priming the basement stairway.  While they worked, I was painting the door to the basement, so I got to overhear their conversation.  I got to hear how Hannah teaches them about following Jesus in small and ordinary things, like how Jesus asks us to treat others with respect and that means not priming your sister’s hair.

This is just one example of how our friends learn about Jesus’ heart by spending time with Jesus-followers. The staff and volunteers at Mission Adelante pray that many will know Jesus and love Him through their association with us.

In other news:

•  
• Cody Lorance and his family from Trinity International Baptist Mission in the Chicago area came to visit Mission Adelante to see the ministry and share some training and experiences.  It was a wonderful time of learning, friendship and fellowship with them.
• Marlen, Gissel, and Lorenzo have been Leaders In Training during the past few school years, and will be our first graduates of the tutoring program! As the three are completing eighth-grade this year, they've reached the upper limit of the LIT program. We are excited to celebrate their accomplishment at the party on Saturday!
• Welcome to the Mission Adelante Community, Elsa Louise Holland! Latino ESL Level 1 Coordinator Jacob Holland and wife Michelle welcomed Elsa early Tuesday morning. Mother and baby are very well and big sisters Adie and Keziah couldn't be more excited!

Prayer needs:

•  
• Pray for the parties this weekend that conclude our spring trimester!  Pray for moments of sweet fun and fellowship for our community members and volunteers.
•  
• Please continue to pray for a neighborhood family who is mourning the death of their 14 year old son, killed in a drive-by shooting nearly two weeks ago.
• Pray for God’s favor over two Latinos in our community who are applying for U.S. residency.

Current needs:

• Dance party lights that we could borrow for the Bhutanese Spring Party this Sunday. Contact Jenny Dunn for more information: jennyd@missionadelante.org.
• The Bhutanese Spring party on April 14th is a bowling party and we need new socks in kid, teen, and adult sizes by Saturday, April 13th. Contact Jenny Dunn for more information: jennyd@missionadelante.org.
• Our Resource Center is low on gently-used kitchen items. Please contact Molly Merrick at mollym@missionadelante.org to set up a time to drop-off your donation.  Please help us out by not leaving donations inside or outside our facility.  Thanks!

Important dates:

Please note: The dates of the Latino and Bhutanese Spring Parties are reversed on the "2013 Key Dates" magnets. The dates listed here are correct.

• Saturday, April 13, 5:00-8:00: Latino Spring Party, at Bethany Community Center. Please come and help us celebrate the accomplishments of our ESL, Teens, Kids Adelante, and L.I.T. students this trimester and honor volunteers with sustained service. Bethany Community Center is located on Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas (66102) between 11th and 12th Streets, behind the fire station.
• Sunday, April 14, 5:00-8:00: Bhutanese Spring Party, at St. John's Catholic Club and Community Center, 720 N. 4th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101.  Please come and help us celebrate the accomplishments of our ESL, Teens Club, Kids Club, and L.I.T. students this trimester and honor volunteers with sustained service.
• Saturday, May 4, 2:00: Bhutanese ESL Volunteer Snacks and Training,at Lauren Timberlake’s house. Please consider joining us for fun, prayer and some cultural training as we keep learning how to love the Bhutanese well. Please contact Jenny Dunn at jennyd@missionadelante.org for more details.

Celebrating New Life

Written by David Stetler, Bhutanese Outreach Director

When the disciples realized that the very-much dead and buried Jesus had risen from the dead, they recognized that life as they knew it had just changed forever.  Jesus was alive again and new life was beginning to emerge.  Through the power of the Resurrection God broke into the narrative of human history, into our lives of brokenness, and He had started something NEW!

This year has been filled with new life at Mission Adelante.  We have seen the living God come into the middle of pain, sorrow and life's many challenges and offer transformation.  The message of love and forgiveness flows out of the message of the Resurrection, and God says to us “This is the time” when all things began to be made new - beauty instead of ashes, gladness instead of mourning, and joy instead of despair.  When we leave it all behind to follow Jesus, we are promised new life in Him. With a divine sigh of relief, the God who created all things releases us from the past, and we step into new life with Him forever. What a promise!

At Mission Adelante, sharing Jesus with people from other places is our passion because we believe that He can and He is making all things new.  We see His truth and love give hope, joy and new life.  Whether it's teaching English or investing in the lives of kids, sharing a meal with a family or tutoring a student, walking with a teenager through life or leading someone through the teachings of Jesus - we find Him making all things new. As we share life with these friends, in the joys and sorrows, we see His transforming love at work changing it all into beauty and gladness. He is truly making all things new.

In Other News:

• One of our church partners, Christ Community EFC, is hosting a conference this weekend called CG2013: Pursuing the Common Good of Our City.  Jason Schoff will have the opportunity to share during a break-out session about a biblical perspective on the immigrant living in our communities and Mission Adelante's ministry efforts.  Find out more about the conference by clicking here.
• Last Tuesday the Bhutanese Teenagers celebrated a Nepali cultural festival called “holi” at teens club. During this festival people throw brightly-colored chalk powder at one another and celebrate good conquering evil. So, Mission Adelante decided to get in on the action and throw some chalk ourselves, while celebrating Jesus, the ultimate good, conquering the evils of death, sickness, and sin in our own lives. It was a fun evening of worshiping Jesus together in a traditional Nepali way.
• The Latino Leaders in Training students have eagerly taken on running the children’s activities during our Spring trimester party, a week from Saturday.  We are so blessed to see our young leaders growing right before our eyes!

Prayer needs:

• The pick-up route for the Bhutanese LIT students yesterday intersected with two locations where people were fatally shot over the weekend.  One victim was a 14 year-old boy who was in class with some of our 8^th graders.  Pray for the Lord’s peace and protection to overwhelm our neighborhood, especially kids trying to make sense of senseless violence.
• Please pray that the current trimester of outreach programs would conclude well next week, and pray that the Lord would provide fresh vision and clarity as we begin to plan for the upcoming summer trimester. We want our plans to be his plans, and his vision to be ours.
• Pray for our Spring parties on April 13 and 14, that our students will feel really blessed by being honoring for their effort and achievement this trimester.
• On April 21^st we will have our informational meeting for next year’s Leaders in Training program.  At this meeting families will hear the vision of LIT and pick up an application packet.  Pray that the Lord would bring the right kids to be a part of next year’s program.

Current needs:

• Pony beads with large holes (to thread on yarn) for Kids Club crafts.  Contact Kristen Maxwell for more information: kristenm@missionadelante.org.
• Dance party lights that we could borrow for the Bhutanese Spring Party. Contact Jenny Dunn for more information: jennyd@missionadelante.org.
• The Bhutanese Spring party on April 14th is a bowling party and we need new socks in kid, teen, and adult sizes by Thursday April 11th. Contact Jenny Dunn for more information: jennyd@missionadelante.org

Important dates:

Please note: The dates of the Latino and Bhutanese Spring Parties are reversed on the "2013 Key Dates" magnets. The dates listed here are correct.

• Saturday, April 13, 5:00-8:00: Latino Spring Party, at Bethany Community Center.  Please come and help us celebrate the accomplishments of our ESL, Teens, Kids Adelante, and L.I.T. students this trimester and honor volunteers with sustained service. Bethany Community Center is located on Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas (66102) between 11th and 12th Streets, behind the fire station.
• Sunday, April 14, 5:00-8:00: Bhutanese Spring Party, at St. John's Catholic Club and Community Center, 720 N. 4th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101.  Please come and help us celebrate the accomplishments of our ESL, Teens Club, Kids Club, and L.I.T. students this trimester and honor volunteers with sustained service.
• Saturday, May 4, 2:00: Bhutanese ESL Volunteer Snacks and Training, at Lauren Timberlake’s house. Please contact Jenny Dunn at jennyd@missionadelante.org for more details.

I Was a Stranger...

Written by Jason Schoff, Latino Outreach Director

When you go about daily life in the city, you will almost certainly run across people from all reaches of the world.  Every day, more and more immigrants move to our cities seeking new opportunities and we see them in our grocery stores, restaurants, and public spaces like our parks.  Do you ever wonder what life is like for these residents of our city?  The cities we know and love are quite often not easy for foreigners to adjust to.  You can never really understand this reality until you have put yourself in their shoes.  While this might be impossible, Mission Adelante attempts to help staff and volunteers become more and more empathetic as they befriend and build relationships with our immigrant neighbors.

Have you wondered where the idea of "putting yourself in someone else's shoes" originated?  I would put my bet on God's Word.  "I was a stranger and you invited me in" are the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:35.  These words communicate such a strong sense of both hospitality and concern for the stranger and there is no question that foreigners would have to be included in the category of "strangers."  What if God had commented more on this topic with relation to the foreigner?  He actually does, throughout the Bible!  We have been asking our staff and volunteers to join us on a 40 day challenge to read scriptures related to this topic and God has strengthened our resolve to help our immigrant neighbors and friends.  

Knowing God's word better will always help us to make informed and God-honoring decisions.  I would assert that we want to see God honored in the decisions our government makes, including decisions pertaining to our immigrant friends.  What will happen with immigration?  Should the laws be changed?  How should they be different?  The Bible has a lot to say on this!  I want to challenge you to join us in reading through scripture and answering these questions as a kingdom citizen.  You may find the answers will lead you to act on behalf of what God desires.  May God bless you for pursuing Him and his ways.

Join the 40 day challenge here.  

In other news:

• Although our regular programs were suspended last week for Spring Break, many of our volunteers used the opportunity to get together with immigrants they've gotten to know through serving. Way to go, volunteers!

Prayer needs:

• Pray for a strong finish to the school year for our current Leaders In Training and that the Lord will bring the right students and families to the informational meetings for next year's LIT on Sunday April 21st.
• This summer, for the first time, we will be selecting immigrant teens to serve as interns. Pray for our staff as we finalize our summer intern selection.

Important dates:

Please note: The dates of the Latino and Bhutanese Spring Parties are reversed on the "2013 Key Dates" magnets. The dates listed here are correct.

• Saturday, April 13, 5:00-8:00: Latino Spring Party, at Bethany Community Center.  Please come and help us celebrate the accomplishments of our ESL, Teens, Kids Adelante, and L.I.T. students this trimester and honor volunteers with sustained service. Bethany Community Center is located on Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas (66102) between 11th and 12th Streets, behind the fire station.
• Sunday, April 14, 5:00-8:00: Bhutanese Spring Party, at St. John's Catholic Club and Community Center, 720 N. 4th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101.  Please come and help us celebrate the accomplishments of our ESL, Teens Club, Kids Club, and L.I.T. students this trimester and honor volunteers with sustained service.
• Saturday, May 4: Bhutanese ESL Volunteer Snacks and Training, at Lauren Timberlake’s house. Please contact Jenny Dunn at jennyd@missionadelante.org for more details.

The Power of Prayer

Written by Hannah Hume, Bhutanese Teens Coordinator

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name I will do it.  John 14:13-14

Prayer is a big deal. Through it we have access to the most powerful being in existence, the sustainer of all life, and that being has made promises to his people regarding prayer; promises like the one above. Often times though, we struggle to take God at his word. He will do whatever we ask in His name? These types of scriptures may feel too good to be true or feel confusing to us. However, there they are in the Bible, promises Jesus made in His word.

In the time I’ve been with Mission Adelante I have learned a lot about prayer as I have spent more and more time with my Bhutanese friends, both “Yeshu bhakta’s” (Jesus followers) and Hindus. When I visit my friends at their home, they often take me to lay hands on their sick grandmother and pray for her in Jesus’ name.  Occasionally a teen girl will ask me to pray for the healing of her broken heart after a breakup with her boyfriend. Sometimes these requests are made by those who follow Jesus but more commonly, the request comes from a member of a Hindu family. They truly believe that Jesus has the power to heal, and He does!

Over and over again friends have reported nonchalantly that the prayers worked and God has healed their relative.  For them, this is just the natural outcome of prayer.  Many times I am the surprised one. I have so much to learn from my friends about believing in the power of prayer!  

Here at Mission Adelante prayer is one of our central values. Each thing we do to make Christ known in Kansas City, KS can only work if God moves. We are dependant on Him, and this drives us to our knees. Please join us in praying for God’s continued movement in our neighborhood, and especially that God’s power, demonstrated through His answers to prayer, would bring Bhutanese to put their trust in Jesus as their Lord.

In other news:

• The spring trimester of our Bhutanese and Latino outreaches launched last Thursday with a lot of momentum and we are excited to see immigrants and volunteers develop lasting friendships in the coming weeks.
• The staff from partner church Christ Church visited Mission Adelante yesterday to share a meal with our staff and serve together by preparing welcome food baskets for new refugee families.
• Bhutanese Children's Ministry Director Kristen Maxwell designed the Leaders In Training program for 8-12 year old Bhutanese students to include the preservation of their cultural heritage. For that reason, time is planned for older members of the Bhutanese community to teach the students how to write in Nepali, their native language.

Prayer needs:

• Please pray for the Bhutanese ESL students that have been designated as "class leaders" to take ownership of their tasks this trimester.
• Pray for spiritual hunger to grow among the Bhutanese teenagers.
• We are praising God for the amazing volunteers that lock arms with us to love our community that He has blessed us with for yet another trimester!
• Please pray for God to bring more volunteer drivers to help transport our Bhutanese friends to outreach programs on Tuesday nights.

• One of our Latina friends delivered a still birth last week. Please pray that she will experience God’s comfort.

Current needs:

• Volunteer drivers for Mission Adelante’s Bhutanese Transportation Team! We transport about 150 people to our outreach programs in our two shuttle buses each Tuesday evening, and we need more drivers to serve for two hours a week. Must be 25 years of age or older, NO CDL REQUIRED. For more information, please contact Drew Hammond at drewh@missionadelante.org
• A dining table and chairs for a recently-arrived family from Nepal. If you have one available please contact Drew Hammond at drewh@missionadelante.org.
• Two space heaters for a family without heat in their home. Please contact Molly Merrick at mollym@missionadelante.org if you can donate one.

Important dates:

• Observation Days: Tuesdays, March 5 & 12 (Bhutanese)/Thursdays, March 7 & 14 (Latino) 6:30-8:30  Have you wondered what all goes on around here on a typical evening of programming?  Here's your opportunity to come and see for yourself!

A Yeshu Concert Celebration

Written by David Stetler, Bhutanese Outreach Director

A week ago Saturday the cross-cultural, western-eastern fusion rock band Aradhna led by the sitar-playing Chris Hale came to visit Kansas City and played a special concert at our end-of-year party to help us finish the year with a huge celebration.  

 The songs that Chris and the band performed for us were all sung in Nepali or Hindi which are both languages that our Bhutanese friends understand very well.  Nepali is their first language and Hindi is usually their second.  Aradhna has a four man band playing the sitar, the bass, the guitar and a really cool hand drum called the tabla.  They sing songs called Yeshu Bhajans which are Jesus worship songs and are all about Jesus, who he is, and what he has done for us.

We gave out awards to our program participants and our faithful volunteers during dinner and celebrated the year together.  We also had a wonderful time singing and dancing to the Yeshu Bhajans celebrating Prameshwar Yeshu, Jesus as Lord, and all that he brings us.  It's amazing how much the joy of music brings when we can sing about Jesus and the peace and joy that he brings us.  

During the Aradhna concert intermission my good friend Janga played a few songs in Nepali about Yeshu (Jesus) that he has recently written.  The first song was about why Jesus came to the earth and the other was a beautiful song to the tune of The Benediction. Janga has been leading worship for our Teens Club, Leaders in Training and our house church for several months.  We love watching him grow as a leader and as a musician and it was great to be present while he shared some of his new songs with the broader Bhutanese community.  

All in all, it was a great night of incredible music, wonderful food and amazing friends as we reflected on a remarkable year.  And at the same time, just down the street, our Latino friends were having a huge party celebrating too.  We are looking forward to celebrating together the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve!

In other news:

• Jason Schoff taught an adult ESL class at a local public school this fall that included one Bhurmese student.  She was the only Bhurmese amidst Latinos.  We were excited to have this opportunity with a new immigrant group.

Prayer needs:

• Praise God with us! The first of the teens in our community brought to the States as a child that applied for the right to work through the federal Deferred Action program introduced last summer has received his documents, and the chance for a better future.
• Please pray for the continuing development of the leaders of our house churches--Bhutanese and Latino--as we continue to spend time intentionally discipling them.
• Please pray that the Mission Adelante staff would enjoy a restful break and return in January ready to jump back into ministry.
• Pray for our tri-cultural (Bhutanese, Latino, and North American) Christmas Eve service to minister to all present.

Current needs:

• Volunteers to join us in all our outreach programs for our next trimester, mid-January to mid-April.  Check out www.missionadelante.org/volunteerto see all our volunteer opportunities!

• GPS units for our Transportation Team. If you are able to provide one, please contact Drew Hammond at drewh@missionadelante.org
• Mattresses for newly arrived Bhutanese refugee families. If you are able to provide one please contact Drew Hammond at drewh@missionadelante.org.

• Volunteers to help sort clothes the resource center. If you are interested in helping, please contact Molly Merrick at mollym@missionadelante.org to arrange a time to come up.
• A Conference Table: 6’ long, dark brown, and in good condition. Please contact Morgan Ham at morganh@missionadelante.orgif you can point us towards one.
• The Bhutanese and Latino LIT programs need a small group (or groups) to purchase pre-packaged, healthy, after-school snacks for the kids.  We would be blessed to receive a couple months worth of snacks.  Please contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.
• Fifteen to twenty 8 GB flash drives for the Latino LIT students to use, preferably with a ring or another way to attach them to lanyards. Please contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.

Important dates:

• Christmas Eve Service: Monday, December 24 @ 6:00 at Mission Adelante. This will be our first combined worship service with both our Latino and Bhutanese communities!  Multi-ethnic refreshments will follow.
• The Mission Adelante office will be closed for Christmas December 25-January 1.

Enrichment Through Multi-generational Friendship

Written by Megan McDermott, Latino Children's Ministry Director

At Mission Adelante, one of the things that we are passionate about is investing in the next generation of leaders.  Throughout the Gospels, we read that Jesus was constantly attending to the widows, orphans, and aliens that he encountered. We desire to encourage the children we love and serve, to love and serve others in turn, the way that Jesus did.  One ongoing relational opportunity that we foster for our Leaders in Training is visiting Bickford Place, an assisted living home, each month.  For the school year, each child is paired with the same resident, or buddy, to learn from one another, do fun crafts, and ultimately become friends.   Both the children and residents are blessed by the friendships that develop.  Two of the LIT girls wrote about their recent experiences at Bickford. 

"I liked getting to know my buddy Roma.  I felt excited about going to Bickford because my buddy was really nice to me and she also told us about her childhood. When she told us her story, she let us look all around her room. She also let us look at all her pictures. We saw a picture when she was very very young. I enjoyed spending time with her because it was my very first time going to Bickford.  She also liked spending time with us because she told us. Roma said that I was really really sweet to her and that I asked a lot of questions. When it was time to go, I felt sad, but I will go back again.  I hope I get to spend time with Roma again." --Perla, age 9

"Bickford is a good place to be because the people there are super nice and friendly.  I feel very exicted when I go to Bickford because I get to be with my buddies.   I  learn new things about them and about how they grew up.  Both of my buddies lived during World War II. By the stories they've told me,  it was a rough time.  They've told me they were very very scared at that point.  They also lived during the Great Depression and they said it was a very sad time.  It makes me very thankful for what I have today. When you leave you will be wishing you'd spend more time with them and will be wanting to come back. --Nataly, age 11

In other news:

• On December 8th we'll wrap up our fall outreach programs with Bhutanese and Latino Christmas parties to celebrate the kids' and adults' accomplishments. The parties provide another great chance to share Jesus.  Pray for God to prepare our friends' hearts to hear and believe the great news of His incarnation!
• The Bhutanese and Latino Leaders In Training will spend the night at the Great Wolf Lodge this weekend to celebrate their hard work and effort during the semester.

Prayer needs:

• Several families we know through our outreach programs are in need of work.  Pray for God to provide for them.
• Please pray for a particular family to be geographically reunited before Christmas.
• Please pray that Bhutanese Teens club would be a place where student-to-student and student-to-leader relationships are characterized by deep mutual respect and trust.  

Current needs:

• The Bhutanese and Latino LIT programs need a small group (or groups) to purchase pre-packaged, healthy, after-school snacks for the kids.  We would be blessed to receive a couple months worth of snacks.  Please contact Megan at meganm@missionadelante.org.
• Teen Bibles and devotionals for Teens Adelante. Please contact Brooke at brookec@missionadelante.org for specifics.

Upcoming dates:

• Latino Christmas Party: Saturday, December 8 @ 5:00  Bethany Community Center, 1120 Central Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66102
• Bhutanese Christmas Party: Saturday, December 8 @ 5:00  First Baptist Church of Kansas City, 2900 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66102

One God, Many Cultures

Written by Hannah Hume, Bhutanese Outreach Intern

I was visiting one of my Bhutanese friends last week when she asked me to teach her how to pray to Jesus. So we talked a little bit about what prayer is, and then I encouraged her to try it for herself. She was nervous to try praying in English, so I urged her to pray in Nepali. Shocked, she looked at me and asked “Jesus knows Nepali?”  

It’s fun to imagine heaven and the multitude of cultures from all around the Earth that will partake in extravagantly worshiping our Lord.  Revelation 5:9 declares of Jesus, “

You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.”  Will we be seated in pews, or on rugs on the floor?  Will we understand the speech in each language we hear?  Will there be electric guitars and drums, or violins, or an organ? Maybe all of the above!

To see the way that other cultures worship can sometimes seem odd or even make us uncomfortable. A few weeks ago, most of the Mission Adelante staff and a number of volunteers attended the Christian Community Development Association Annual Conference. While there, we were blessed to worship Jesus with some Native American brothers and sisters who have a worship style that's very different than we've ever experienced. They wore brightly colored traditional clothing, danced, beat drums and chanted. After the dancing was done, one of the dancers explained that with every step of the dance prayers were being offered to God for the Native American people to come to know Jesus. This seemed odd to me. However, 

this is the most natural way

for the Native American people to pray to and connect with God.

Mission Adelante loves to see people worship the one true God within their own culture, in a way that makes sense to them. We constantly consider how to share the Gospel and and how to show what it means to follow Jesus within the context of their lives and norms--becoming a Christian doesn't require one to become an American first. We're learning as we go--it's for this reason that we continue to made changes to our programs. For example, the Bhutanese Teens used to sing English worship songs while seated in chairs arranged in rows. However, now when we congregate each Tuesday evening, we gather around in a circle, seated on Nepali rugs, and sing “Yeshu Bhajans” or "Jesus songs" in the Nepali language. It's an atmosphere that's just more naturally conducive for Bhutanese people to worship.

Won’t it be a beautiful sight to behold when every tribe, nation and tongue worships Jesus together in heaven? Imagine all the colors, the motion, and the noise! It's going to be beyond our imaginations, and its going to represent the vast creativity and beauty of God. Until then, we want to paint a picture of that heavenly kingdom on Earth each time we tell Bhutanese, Latino, and American girls and boys that “God created you just the way you are, and he wants you to worship Him just the way you are”.

In other news:

• Two Bhutanese ESL classes are taking field trips to local pharmacies. These field trips strengthen the relationships between students and their American conversation partners, and can really help students take better care of their families health needs.

Prayer needs:

• Many of our new volunteers are visiting the homes of the students that they work with for the first time. Pray for God’s presence, wisdom, and love to be poured out during these friendly visits.

Current needs:

• The weather has changed! We are in need of cold-weather clothing for the whole family to stock our resource center.  The resource center is also low on household items such as pots and pans, dishes and cups, small and large appliances, etcetera.  Please contact Molly Merrick at mollym@missionadelante.org to set up a time to drop-off your donation.  Please help us out by not leaving donations inside or outside our facility.  Thanks!
• The kids in our Kids Club are growing up and we need some board games to entertain older kids on Tuesday nights.  Contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org for more information, or if you have some games to donate.

Important dates:

• Tuesday, October 23/Thursdays, October 18 & 25:Ever wondered what goes on here on a typical evening of programming?  Come on up on a observation night and find out!  Tuesday evenings are Bhutanese outreach, Thursday evenings are Latino outreach.  Come to 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102 between 6:30 and 8:30.

• Saturday, November 17, 3-6:30 p.m.: Mission Adelante Staff House Parties
• Jarrett & Kristen Meek, Molly Merrick: 251 N. 15th Street
• Jason & Megan Schoff, Megan McDermott: 410 N. 15th Street
• David & Brooke Coon: 245 N. 17th Street
• David & Holly Stetler, Drew Hammond: 438 N. 17th Street
• Drew & Lauren Timberlake, Kristen Maxwell: 706 N. 17th Street
• Garett & Jenny Dunn, Hannah Hume: 335 N. 15th Street
All homes are in Kansas City, KS 66102.  RSVP is not necessary.